PHILADELPHIA--People were lined up to get into City Hall in Philadelphia this morning for a hearing on the voter ID law, where some argued on whether the law should be revoked.
Those involved in the hearing debated whether state voters should be forced to show a form of identification to vote in the general election on Nov. 6. The issues of timeliness and cases of voter fraud were some of the points the justices made from the bench.
A common question posed was “what’s the rush?” and was asked several times to those in support of the law. While Justice Seamus McCaffery said that the photo identification is a reasonable request, the time frame, however, is being questioned.
David Gersch, an attorney representing those who wanted to appeal the law, argued first, and said that for some people, getting an identification card is tough. He said that nine counties in the state do not have Pennsylvania Department of Transportation facilities, while 10 counties have the facilities, but are only open on one day of the week.
Gersch said that with the shortness of time, the burden of getting an identification card is tough for some people. He also said that 1 to 9 percent of the state’s population does not have the proper identification to vote.
The justices then started directing questions about what a practical time frame was to get an identification card in time for the Nov. 6 election.
Chief Deputy Attorney General John Knorr spoke second on behalf of the state, and was questioned about how easy it was to get an ID and the time span people will have. Attorney for Gov. Tom Corbett, Alfred Putnam, also argued for why the law should be upheld.
Putnam said the law was passed in March and the appeals didn’t happen until May, which he said gave people plenty of time to get a proper ID for Election Day.
The hearing lasted about an hour and a half.
